Korea's Political Turmoil Is Driving US Equities Higher

Korea retail investors have been selling domestic equities and buying US single stocks (TSLA, A.I. plays) to won over $100 billion - and this was before Yoon's "martial law" fiasco. Expect more.

Note: I will be a guest on

Maggie Lake

Talking Markets live at market close 🇺🇸4PM EST today (🇯🇵6AM Tuesday) - don’t miss it: https://www.youtube.com/@maggielake-talkingmarkets

A lot of people are citing “geopolitical risk” in markets these days - be it the brushing off of, or the overhanging concern of said “geopolitical risk.”

The flaw here is that “geopolitical risk” as it relates to markets refers to a risk-off move only, which has basically become the unanimously accepted definition from all sides of the argument. But that’s not the reality - there can be, and indeed are, geopolitical events and developments that can impact markets to the upside as well. “Geopolitical risk” should be referred to as geopolitical market impact, rather than “risk.”

In this article, I will lay out how the political turmoil underway in South Korea with President “martial law” Yoon may very likely be contributing to the new record-level hitting upside in US indices, the resumption of TSLA’s rally, and even BTC’s breaking north of $100k - none of which are risk-off, and instead are quite the opposite.

Before that, see this 60 second clip to get yourself in the proper mindset on what “American Exceptionalism” really means:

While I am discussing Japan NISA accounts who have been flooding into US equities as a means to escape the crumbling yen in the clip above (filmed live on Black Monday as JPY carry trade unwind was blowing up the world), the broader message on “American Exceptionalism” very much also applies here, with Korea’s retail investors as well.

And of course as always, what I am saying in the clip above is what the core purpose of Across The Spread’s existence is all about - flagging overlooked developments and differentiated insights stemming out of Asia that have global market impact and consequence.

Here’s how Korea’s recent martial law self-inflicted disaster is impacting US equities.